1:06 pm, September 22, 2026
Vindis Group is looking to use artificial intelligence to operate with fewer sales executives after staff shortages hit new and used car sales throughout 2025.
The franchised dealer group says it struggled to fill vacant sales positions during the year, with the issue continuing into 2026 despite improvements in staff retention.
Bosses are now rethinking how the business handles customer enquiries, with plans to introduce AI technology to reduce its reliance on sales executives.
The plans have been revealed in the Huntingdon-based firm’s latest annual accounts, which also show that Vindis more than halved its pre-tax losses in 2025.
In their strategic report, directors said: ‘The most significant issue within our control was the vacant sales executive positions throughout the year.
‘The overall attrition rates did reduce, but the company found it challenging to get back up to full numbers which impacted the new and used retail sales volumes.’
The report added: ‘This continues to be a problem in 2026 however the group is rethinking its strategy around enquiry handling which will enable the group to operate with less sales executives, partly through introducing AI technologies.’
The accounts do not specify how many sales executive positions the group hopes to reduce through the introduction of AI, or set out any plans for redundancies.
In fact, the group’s average number of employees classified as sales staff increased from 285 to 289 during 2025, while its overall workforce grew from 721 to 732.
Directors also confirmed that the business had made further investment in sales executive positions as part of its efforts to improve trading.
Losses more than halve
The staffing challenges came during a year in which Vindis made progress in its efforts to return to profitability.
Accounts for the 12 months to December 31, 2025, show that turnover climbed from £387.1m to £400.5m.
The group returned an operating profit of £935,905, having posted an operating loss of £913,999 in 2024.
However, interest charges of almost £3.2m meant the business remained in the red, with its pre-tax loss standing at £2.16m.
That compares with a £4.32m pre-tax loss in the previous year. After tax, the group recorded a loss of £1.89m, compared with £4.32m in 2024.
Directors said the improvement had been driven by stronger trading across several parts of the business, although they acknowledged that the overall result remained below expectations.
New retail car volumes were broadly in line with the previous year, but improved model mix and stock availability helped boost margins.
Corporate sales volumes increased by 25% year on year, following changes to the group’s fleet storage arrangements and efforts to rebuild its customer base.
Used retail volumes were slightly higher than in 2024, although margins fell amid difficult market conditions and staff shortages.
Aftersales performed strongly, with growth in retail hours sold and healthy margins across the group’s brands.
The board said it had continued to monitor used car pricing closely, maintaining provisions against used and trade stock to reflect market conditions.
Funding facilities renewed
The accounts also reveal that the group’s vehicle stock increased from £48.8m to £58.6m during the year.
Vindis reported net current liabilities of £6.78m at the end of December, compared with £5.91m a year earlier.
The business has renewed a £6m pooled banking facility with HSBC and a separate £2m group cash facility with VW Bank, both on existing terms.
Directors said they had prepared financial forecasts running to September 2027 and expected the group to remain within its available funding facilities throughout that period.
Those forecasts included downside scenarios involving a 10% reduction in used car volumes, a 5% reduction in new retail volumes and a 5% fall in labour sales.
The board said the business had sufficient resources to continue trading and remained confident that its financial performance would improve.
Vindis operates dealerships representing Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Seat and Ducati, alongside used car centres, commercial vehicle operations and aftersales facilities.